Vol 8 Chapter 84 (2/2)

If Dilu brings bad luck to its owners, then this is serious.

Un… I have to make my way to Imperial Uncle’s residence immediately after Court ends.

Liu Bei POV

“Zi Zhong, are those scrolls over there ready?”

“Yes, they can be handed over to Xinye’s officials immediately.”

“Lord Zhang Liao, please remember to get an official seal from Xiangyang’s garrison. There is a pa.s.s we have to go through on the way to Xinye.”

“Do we get the Great Han official seal or the Jing state official seal?”

“The Great Han official seal. It will be useful in future when we go to other places.”

“By the way, where are the Jing state mountainous area maps we received when we arrived here? Lord Liao Hua, Lord Zhao Yun, did you move them?”

“No.”

“Don’t ask other people to find your own things, especially at such an urgent time. If you really can’t find it, then get another copy from the garrison though whether they will give it to you is another question.”

“Lord Chen Dao, please pa.s.s me the register for the first battalion, I remember…”

“Lord Chen Gong, please wait for a moment, I still have a request from a hundred man commander that just came in yesterday which I have not reviewed yet.”

I was sitting in the main hall doing nothing while looking at the busy people in front of me and realised that the time before moving out to Xinye is extremely short.

Ah… I’m about to go to Xinye soon.

Though I made my intentions clear to Yi Ji the other time when I went to apologise, and Liu Qi does not blame me at all, I haven’t seen her at all, and I’ve been thinking hard about this.

My defences during this period have been rather good and I will be going to Xinye shortly as well. But what happens after that? What will happen to Liu Qi? Will she become caught in the crosshairs of the Cai sisters?

Hai… This really is…

When I thought about this, my head started to hurt again. I looked outside and saw that summer was at full blast as usual. Just sitting here in the hall was unbearable, let alone being one of those busy running about outside.

I really want to go and help them but they know how much help I can offer and I too know it myself. So rather than go over and eyeball them, I might as well find a corner and sit down so I don’t get in their way.

Though I’m not helping them, I’ve been infected by their irritability, which has been further compounded by this unholy weather.

“Please sign here, my lord.” Just then, Yi De came over and placed a piece of silk before me as she did so.

“Ah, this is…” As I received it, I realised I couldn’t understand quickly enough its contents and asked Yi De for help.

“Doc.u.ments relating to the transfer of food supplies.” Yi De replied in a steady tone, “Xiangyang has agreed to give us about half a month’s worth of supplies when we leave. After we reach Xinye, we will be on our own.”

“Ah, is there enough in Xinye?”

We’re looking after 30,000 people after all.

“It’s a small county so it might be difficult.” Yi De shook her head slightly, “But in a few months, the autumn harvest will be here. Everything above and beyond the needs of the commoners are available for us. When that time comes, our fortunes will significantly improve.”

“And what do we do before that?”

“We will likely have to get the soldiers to engage in agriculture before then and plant some crops which have shorter harvest cycles.”

Un… I grunted and nodded.

Alright, let me confess something– I’m still not used to how Yi De speaks right now.

Yes, Yi De’s memories have not shown any sign of recovery at all.

Based on what Hua Tuo said, I should speak with Yi De as much as possible.

Yet, after we’ve come here, apart from our short trip to Liu Biao’s residence, I’ve had practically no interaction with Yi De whatsoever. Naturally, it was largely thanks to the Jiangxia expedition. Though the tears Yi De shed during Chen Gong’s prank had given me a glimmer of hope, it has slowly eroded away since then as nothing has changed.

I don’t know what Yi De thinks in her heart but she hasn’t revealed anything on the outside and I haven’t found a chance to ask her as well.

Based on what Yun Chang says, Yi De has not shown any outward deviation in her behaviour. Everything has gone what it has been for a while now and she has not shown signs of either recovery or further degradation. Her ability to deal with paperwork is about the same as Liao Hua, such that she is every inch an upstanding administrative official.

From my point of view, this isn’t a good sign. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Yi De being an administrative official, but if it’s even possible, I still hope for the original energetic Yi De to be by my side.

It was, after all, that Yi De who first spoke to me when I came to this world. One could say that it was Yi De who made me become Liu Bei and allowed me to know Yun Chang.

If Yi De is no longer that Yi De, I’m afraid there will be a rather significant hole in my heart which will be difficult to fill.

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